Emotions
by jadedcutie494
Summary: An assignment to sing their emotions brings Puck and Rachel together, and brings out some unresolved tension in the club. Starts after A Very Glee Christmas
1. Chapter 1

A/N: ok, so it's a new story… yay! This is 4 chapters… I think, it may end up at 5, but at the moment I'm writing the 4th chapter and I'm planning on it being the last. So, it should be up and completed in the next two or three days. Spoilers up to A Very Glee Christmas, picks up in the new year following that episode.

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee… that would be awesome though

Chapter 1: Assignment

'So you guys were awesome at Sectionals, and we all did a great job for Christmas, and I hope you all had a great break.' Mr Schue entered the room, a big smile on his face. 'We've go some time before Regionals, so this week I have an assignment for you.'

Rachel rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. She knew anything she said wouldn't be taken well. She couldn't believe that after only tying first place at Sectionals, Mr Schuester was going to give them more silly assignments to teach them pointless lessons instead of focusing on preparing for Regionals. They were never going to win like this.

She slumped slightly in her seat, not something she usually did, and as she looked around the room, she caught Puck's eye and he smirked at her, as if agreeing with her view on Mr Schue. She smiled slightly in return, then turned back to face the front of the room.

'So, this week I want all of you to choose a song that you feel connected to, that you can funnel real emotions through. Sing about something really important to you right now, or it can be about someone specific, or just your own general feelings, but they will be solo numbers and we'll be performing them throughout the week.'

Rachel couldn't help but glance over at Puck and roll her eyes again, earning a nod and another smirk. She smiled to herself as she reached for her bag to pull out her iPod. Ever since Christmas break, he was the only person in Glee really talking to her, and it was nice to have a friend. Well, a sort of friend. Actually, most of the time she wasn't really sure where she stood with Puck. She knew he liked her, enough to talk to her at school, give her lifts home and occasionally hang out. But since he didn't talk much, she had no idea if they were _actually_ friends.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she focused on scrolling through her artists, looking for one that jumped out at her.

'Hey Berry.' Rachel jumped and turned to find Puck had moved to the chair next to and was looking over her shoulder at her iPod. 'Any ideas what you're gonna sing?'

'No, not yet. I was thinking about picking someone to sing about and finding a song that would fit into that. What about you?' He shrugged, still looking down at the screen.

'No idea. You listen to Taylor Swift?' She turned and half-glared at him.

'She's a fantastic singer, and I admire her ability to succeed in the pop charts despite being a country singer. And you know Taylor Swift?'

'Well besides the fact everyone was talking about her and that Kanye thing a couple years ago, I have a little sister Berry. I know about a lot of things I can't believe.'

'Right, Hannah, how could I forget about her?'

'Well, she'll be very upset you forgot about her. So, am I giving you a lift today?' She smiled and nodded.

'Yes, thank you.' She bobbed her head in quick agreement, then looked around to realise nearly everyone had left. Only Quinn and Mercedes were left, and they were deep in discussion on the other side of the room.

While Puck moved back to his original chair to collect his backpack and guitar, Rachel put away her folder of sheet music, and slipped her iPod into the pocket of her skirt, standing as he approached, backpack slung over on shoulder, and guitar case in hand.

'Ready Berry?' She rolled her eyes at the name but nodded; stepping forward, she fell into step with him, or more he fell into step with her and they headed out to the parking lot. While Puck put their bags in the back, Rachel hopped into his truck, and dug the iPod chord she'd bought out of his glove box and plugged her iPod into his radio, scrolling through the songs until she found the one she wanted.

She was waiting, iPod in hand when Puck hopped in and turned the car on. As he pulled out of the lot, he looked over to see Rachel still holding the iPod, staring at it.

You gonna play something, or just stare at it?' He asked after another minute of silence.

'Well… when I we were talking earlier about the assignment, I remembered a song and I thought… well, I thought it might be a song you could sing, but I don't want to overstep my bounds, because I'm not sure if this sort of friendship allows for this sort of suggestion and-'

'Berry, calm down and shut up for a second. First, we've been over this; less words gets the point across just as well. Second, shut up with the sort of friendship crap, we're friends. Shit, I'm fairly certain you're one of the few people at McKinley who actually like me, let alone willing spend time with me. And third – are you gonna suggest a Taylor Swift song?'

Rachel smiled up at him at his comment on their friendship, then ducked her head, embarrassed.

'I know Taylor Swift isn't exactly badass, but this song… will you just listen to it? I think you'll understand what I meant, and who I think you should dedicate it to.'

'Sure Berry,' he said, sighing softly. 'Go for your life.' He resisted the urge to roll his eyes; only Rachel Berry could get him to agree to shit like this. Seriously, girl had a freaky way of getting to him. As he listened to the song, to the lyrics, he swallowed hard. She also had an uncanny way of knowing exactly what he needed. This song, albeit sung by a girl, was exactly the kind of thing that had sprung to mind when Schue announced the assignment.

'What do you think?' Rachel asked quietly after the song ended, and she pressed pause.

'I swear sometimes, there must be some Jewish psychic gene for women, cause you and my mum, damn.'

'Noah!'

'Seriously though. It's kinda perfect. And I was kinda thinking about finding a song to dedicate to her anyway. You know me too well Berry.' There was a pause, a silence between them. Then 'you don't, like, have cameras hidden in my house do you Berry? Cause-'

'No Noah, I assure you I don't have cameras in your house. Where do you come up with these silly notions?' Another pause. 'Unless _you_ have hidden cameras in _my_ house. Because I'll have you know that is extremely illegal Noah, and my daddy…' He laughed at this; the tone in her voice so serious. Then she started laughing too, and he looked over and smiled when he saw her smiling. Not her weird creepy show smile, that still kinda scared him (not that he'd tell _her_ that), but her natural smile.

They were still laughing when he pulled into the Berry driveway, and he put the car into park. Turning to her, he grabbed her hand, looked at her so seriously she sobered up in an instant.

'Berry… Rachel,'

'What Noah?' she asked, slightly anxious now.

'I promise there are no hidden cameras in your house.' She smiled and smacked his arm.

'You're an idiot Noah.'

'Yeah, but I'm your idiot, so you have to put up with me.'

'Oh really?' He shrugged.

'Yeah. Us hot Jews have to stick together.'

'If you say so Noah. Well, I have to go, I have a lot of studying to do, and I want to prepare my song for Glee.'

'What are you gonna do?'

'I have something in mind, also dedicated to someone specific, but you'll have to wait to find out.' With that she was out of the truck, reaching around the back to grab her bag, which took her a minute, with it having slid into the centre of the bed. He watched as she let herself into the house, and when she was inside, put his car into reverse and headed home. How the hell had she managed to pick the perfect song for him? He had no idea how she knew him so well; the only person who knew him better was his mum, and well, there wasn't much he could hide from her. He shook his head. Must be the Jewish thing – can't hide anything from Jewish women, they're sneaky geniuses.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: alright, here it is, the next chapter. Noah's song, and the club's reaction. I hope you like it. Please review, I'd love to know what you think!

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee

Chapter 2: Dedicated to Beth

At home, Puck paid his sister's babysitter, made them dinner while he oversaw her homework (honestly, what the hell did the babysitter do? Plonk her in front of the TV and ignore her all afternoon?). He looked up the music for the song, and while he and Hannah ate, he answered her questions about the assignment he was working on and, after much badgering on her part, agreed to play it for her later that night after he'd had a chance to fiddle with the key and practice. So, after a joint effort of cleaning up the kitchen and popping their mum's dinner in the over to keep warm, he left her on the couch with her book for school and instructions to leave the TV off until their mum was home and went upstairs to practice.

45 minutes later, as he was making final adjustments to his arrangement and playing it through on his guitar, there was a knock on his door.

'Noah?'

'Come in Hannah.' The door opened, and his sister's head popped in through the gap. 'What's up squirt?'

'Mum's home, she's having dinner. I told her you promised to sing for me, so I came up to see if you were ready. Are you ready?' He laughed and nodded at her.

'Yeah, I'm nearly ready. Go down and keep mum company while she eats, and I'll be down in 10 minutes, ok?' She nodded enthusiastically, then left, leaving the door open behind her as she ran back downstairs.

As Puck finished playing, he finally looked up from his guitar to see Hannah smiling, and his mum almost in tears. He trailed off on the last note, and cleared his throat.

'Uh… those are good tears right? Not like, you suck so bad I'm crying, tears.' His mum laughed lightly and shook her head.

'Noah, honestly. Your language. It's atrocious.'

'Well now you sound like Rachel,' he mumbled to himself. 'But not bad tears?'

'No Noah, no bad tears. Slightly sad, but not bad. It was beautiful. I'm proud of you. Where did you find that song?'

'Rachel.'

'Rachel Berry?'

'Uh… yeah. Why?'

'Nothing. I just didn't know you two were so close.' She was smiling now, and he had to admit, he was a little scared.

'What do you mean?' he asked, wary of her answer. He loved his mum, but sometimes she was crazy. Hey, must be the Jewish thing again – he lov-liked Rachel, but man was she crazy.

'Just that I didn't realise you were close enough that she could pick a song like this for you. You must know each other very well. It's nice to know you have a _friend_ like that.' She was damn near grinning now, and he didn't miss the way she stressed the word friend, but he decided to ignore it for now.

'Whatever, we're friends now. Uh, I'm gonna go up, practice some more.'

'Alright Noah. And it really was a beautiful song.' As he left, his mum couldn't contain her smile at the thought of her Noah and Rachel Berry.

The next morning, Rachel stepped out her front door as Puck pulled into the driveway. She waved as she made her way to the truck, lifting her bag into the back before jumping up into the front.

'Hey Berry.'

'Hello Noah, how are you this morning?' He laughed as he pulled out onto the street and headed towards school.

'I'm good. Tired.'

'Tired? Noah what time did you go to sleep? Teenagers need between 8 and 9 hours sleep every night to be properly rested, which is why I always go to bed at 10 and am up at 6:30 every morning. You really should-'

'Chill Berry. I got enough sleep, I'm just not a morning person. And seriously? You get up at 6:30 every morning? Why the hell would you do that?'

'I get up and spend an hour on the elliptical every morning, followed by a protein shake, shower and preparing for the day. I find it's the best way to start my day, with a natural boost of endorphins.'

'Ok Berry, you've officially proved to me that you are crazy. You get up at 6:30 every morning to exercise for an hour?'

'Yes. You must exercise. I mean I've seen what you consume on a daily basis, so you must exercise to maintain your physique, not to mention you play football and therefore must be-'

'Just admit it Berry, I look good. And yeah I work out, but like, at normal times like during the day, the afternoon. Not freakin' 6:30 in the morning.'

'Well, I find that exercising first thing when I wake up is the best thing for me.'

'Uh huh. Just admit you're crazy.'

'You know, I find it rather amusing that _you_ call me crazy.'

'Meaning?' He asked, one eyebrow raised as he glanced over at her, swinging into the school's parking lot.

'Just that after numerous conversations with you, and witnessing some of your antics, I find it amusing that you consider me crazy when clearly, you must take that title.' She told him, before opening her door and jumping out.

He caught up to her at the entrance to the school, catching her elbow to stop her, and he was laughing.

'I can't believe Crazy-Berry thinks _I'm_ crazy.' She shrugged.

'Well, either I'm right or maybe it's just a sign of my own craziness. Who knows?' He nodded in agreement to her second theory, and fell into step as the made their down the hall to their lockers. 'So Noah, are you ready to perform today, or are you going to wait?'

'Nah, I'm gonna go for it today.' He paused when they reached her locker, waiting until she was occupied moving books in and out, getting what she needed for her first classes, before he spoke again. 'I uh, actually played for mum and Hannah last night.' Her head popped out from behind the door and she looked at him with wide eyes.

'Really? How did it go? What did they say? I didn't know you liked to practice for your family.'

'Calm down Berry. I don't normally, but I was looking up the sheet music and Hannah saw and started bugging me about it, so I agreed to play it for her. And uh… I kinda made my mum cry but she swore it was a good thing. I swear I don't understand chicks who cry when they're happy.'

'It's just… oh forget it. You're a boy. But that's wonderful Noah. Now I really can't wait for this afternoon.'

'Yeah, I'm awesome like that.' He smirked at her, and she hit his arm before closing her locker.

'On that charming note Noah, I'm going to my class, and hopefully you'll do the same.'

'Well… it's not maths is it? Shit…uh.'

'No Noah, you're in my maths class this year, remember? And we don't have that until this afternoon, don't worry. See, so you can go to class! I'll see you later.' And with that she was bouncing off down the corridor, leaving him to watch, shaking his head.

Puck was sitting in the corner of the choir room, strumming quietly on his guitar, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Of course, Rachel was already in the room, sitting in the row in front of him. She appeared to be engrossed in her sheet music, but every now and then he noticed her moving slightly when he played a tune she knew.

Slowly, one by one, the rest of the group came through the door and scattered themselves around the room. Finally, a good ten minutes after Puck had arrived, everyone but Mr Schue was there. He was seriously getting ansty – god did he just use the word antsy? He kicked Rachel's chair lightly, and she turned to glare at him, but he just looked at her innocently until she sighed, shook her head and turned back to her music.

When Mr Schue walked through the door, Puck's hand was in the air straight away. And ok, so it made him look like really eager, but shit he just needed to get this shit done before he chickened out. And Puck did _not_ chicken out of anything, so, yeah. Whatever, the sooner he got this over with the better.

'Puck?' Mr Schue asked, confused.

'Uh, I have my song ready for the assignment.' He could feel almost everyone's eyes on him. The only one not looking at him was Rachel, who, while he could tell she was listening, was still looking down at her papers.

'Oh… uh, sure. Ok guys, Puck's gonna be the first to show us his song. Come on down.' God, _come on down_? What was this, a freakin' game show? Whatever, Schue was weird, he knew this. So, holding his guitar, he made his way to the front of the room. He moved the stool he'd gotten out earlier, and moved it to the centre of the room, sitting and moving his guitar into place. He took a deep breath, and looked up to find Rachel looking at him. Not smiling, just looking. Then she nodded, and he let the breath out, turning to the rest of the group.

'This song's for someone special.' Was all he said before he started playing. 'Your little hand's wrapped around my finger

And it's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming

So I tuck you in, turn on your favourite night light

To you everything's funny

You got nothing to regret

I'd give all I have, honey

If you could stay like that.'

Puck looked up as he started the chorus, catching Quinn's eye, feeling slightly angered by the mix of sadness and anger he saw there. Sadness he could understand, but was she seriously gonna get pissed at him for singing about Beth?

'Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

Just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you

Won't let nobody break your heart

And no one will desert you

Just try to never grow up

Never grow up'

Rachel can't believe how amazing this is. She knew Noah could do this song, and if he was putting his emotions into it, really singing to Beth, he could make it incredible, but this. She wasn't expecting this. The raw emotion, the pain and longing in his voice. This is one of those once in a lifetime moments where you witness something truly amazing, and Rachel wanted to remember every moment. He catches her eye briefly near the end of the chorus, and she feels like crying would most definitely _not_ be an inappropriate reaction to witnessing something like this, but she holds herself back, knowing it would most likely distract him, and she wants to hear the rest of the song.

'You're in the car on the way to the movies

And you're mortified your mum's dropping you off

At 14, there's just so much you can't do

And you can't wait to move out someday and call you own shots'

Although he and Finn are kind of in a weird place right now, what with everything that went down with Rachel and that fact that Puck made it known he thought Finn was acting like a douche, he looks over at his best friend and smirks softly as they both think back to their childhood, and all the times they complained about now being allowed to do what they wanted.

'But don't make her drop you off around the block

Remember that she's getting older too

And don't lose the way that you dance around

In your pj's getting ready for school'

Rachel hears the snort from the other side of the room, and glances over, seeing Santana shaking with laughter, and has a sudden urge to scream at the girl, and for the first time in her life, use violence to get her anger across. How dare she make fun of Noah's performance. Just because she was clearly too dim-witted to understand what the song was about, _who_ the song was for. Stupid… Cheeri-ho.

'Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

Just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you every grow up

It could stay this simple

No one's ever burned you

Nothing's ever left you scarred

And even though you want to

Please try to never grow up'

Rachel notices as he prepares for the bridge of the song that his breath hitches just a little, and as she thinks of what the lyrics are, she understands how painful this part must be, on two levels.

'Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room

Memorise what is sounded like when your dad gets home

Remember the footsteps, remember the words said

And all your little brother's favourite songs

I just realised everything I have is someday gonna be gone'

Not only must this remind him of the father who left him, whom he _only_ has memories left of, but also of the fact that his own child will never have the chance to make memories of him, because he won't be there.

'So here I am in my new apartment

In a big city, they just dropped me off

It's so much colder than I thought it would be

So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up

I wish I'd never grown up'

Puck looked down at his guitar, focusing on his strings as she started the final chorus. Ok so maybe he was avoiding looking at everyone, whatever.

'Oh I don't wanna grow up

Wish I'd never grown up

I could still be little

Oh, I don't wanna grow up

Don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

Just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple'

He took a deep breath, and finally looked away from his guitar, to find Rachel's eyes again. She was still just sitting there staring at him, but he took comfort in it. She wasn't angry, or confused, or laughing like he knew Santana was (he wasn't deaf, he heard the snort earlier, and could see her shaking). So as he finished the song, he looked at Rachel, ignoring the eleven other people in the room.

'Won't let nobody hurt you

Won't let no one break your heart

And even though you want to

Please try to never grow up

Oh

Don't you ever grow up

Oh

Never grow up

Just never grow up'

As the last note from the guitar faded, Puck finally tore his gaze from Rachel to look at the rest of the group. There was silence, as if no one knew what to say, until Santana decided to open her mouth.

'So Puck, was this your way of telling us you wish you were still in diapers, being tucked in by mummy, with a nightlight to keep the bogeyman away? How… pitiful.'

Before Puck could say anything, Rachel was up and screaming across the room at the Latina.

'You stupid, idiotic bitch! Are you honestly that self-centred that you couldn't tell that was about lost innocence, the pain of growing up? About Beth? And that the nightlight is a metaphor?' Rachel paused to take a breath to continue her assault, but was cut off by Quinn.

'Puck what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you sing about Beth? She's gone Puck, she's not yours, she never will be. She's gone.'

'Just cause you're a cold-hearted bitch, doesn't mean everyone is. You may be willing to just move on, act like last year never happened, like Beth doesn't exist, but I can't Quinn. I _won't_. She's my daughter, I don't care who you gave her to, she'll always be mine. So screw you.' Ignoring Quinn's continued tirade, and the words of the other gleeks as they all started to talk, well more like yell at him and Rachel, he moved to pick up his guitar case and bag. He was moving to the door when he heard Rachel's voice again.

'SHUT UP! All of you just shut up! You should be ashamed of yourselves. All Noah did was use this assignment to sing about something very important to him, and all you can do is mock him, or make it about you own issues,' at this point, he could just picture her looking pointedly at Quinn. 'And Mr Schue, Noah followed your instructions, he opened himself up to us, and when these people start abusing him, you just stand there! You're the teacher. So act like one.' Puck was frozen by the door, shocked by her words. By the silence that followed, he wasn't the only one. He only moved when he felt a small hand on arm, tugging slightly on his shirt. 'Come on Noah, let's go.'

She pulled him out of the room, leading him down the hall to the car park, seemingly ignoring the calls that followed them through the open door.

Neither of them spoke again until they were in his car, and Puck was pulling out into the street.

'Noah, I don't care what any of those… insensitive, detestable, absolute … JERKS said. That was wonderful. Just because none of them could understand, doesn't mean you shouldn't have done it.' She paused, and he knew she was considering whether or not to say what else was on her mind. 'I think… I think you should record yourself singing it, in case, no for when Beth comes looking for you. And she will. Shelby may always be her mum, but trust me, someday she'll want to know you, see where she came from. I think this is something she'd like to see.' She paused again, and he was quiet. 'Um, ok, that was all.'

'Thanks Berry.'

'For what Noah? I didn't do anything.'

'I dunno. Everything. You're pretty cool, you know, for a crazy chick.' He looked over, grinning, and she tried to keep an offended look on her face, but failed, laughing at him.

'Thank you Noah. You're pretty cool too, you know, for a crass, sex-obsessed juvenile delinquent.' He rolled his eyes, but she saw his small smile, and smiled to herself as she turned to look out the window.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: SORRY! I know, I promised to have this up within like a week! Sorry! So here's the next chapter, and I'll have the last chapter uploaded by tomorrow night, I just need to go over it. Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters – I wish, I really, really wish

Chapter 3: Dedicated to Will

Thursday morning, Puck once again pulled into the Berry driveway. This time, Rachel wasn't waiting, or even stepping through the door. He figured he'd give her a couple minutes; maybe she was having a human day and running late. He turned up his radio, rested his head back, and closed his eyes.

When he realised two songs had played all the way through, he opened his eyes, and realised Rachel still hadn't emerged. He turned off the truck, and stepped out, making his way to the door. He knocked, and when there was no answer, tried the handle. The door swung in, and he stepped inside. He paused, and when he heard noise upstairs, he headed up the stairs.

He paused in the doorway to Rachel's room, watching her flutter around, looking panicked.

'Rachel? What's going on?' She spins to face the door, a small squeak falling through her lips, and he laughs. 'Sorry, but you didn't come out so I came in to make sure you were still alive and, well, Rachel.'

'What? Oh my god what time is it? I was just… and the performance… my music… looking for a new song…'

'Ok, wow, calm down Rach. Rach. Rachel! Ok FREEZE!' He had to bite back a laugh at the way she literally froze, only moving to look over at him. 'Ok, so pretty much you were freaking bout your song choice for today? Don't ok, whatever it is, it's gonna be great.'

'But I don't think anyone will like it. I mean, I'm not sure it's appropriate, and considering what occurred on Tuesday, I'm not sure performing a song of this nature would be the best course of action.'

'Hang on… ok, so this song will kinda build on what you were saying Tuesday?' She nodded, and he smirked. 'So, does that mean this song is basically sticking it to the rest of those losers?' She nodded again, and he laughed, tipping his head back. When he looked back, she was grinning at him.

'Can I tell you a secret?' He grinned in response, and nodded. 'The song I'm singing? It's for everyone, really, in Glee. But I'm dedicating it to Mr Schuester.' He took a moment to realise what that meant, and as soon as he did, he was laughing again, picking her up for a hug, swinging her around.

'I knew there was a badass in there somewhere, this is gonna be epic! You are so awesome!' Rachel was laughing when he stopped spinning them and went to set her back on her feet. She looked up at him, smiling, and he reacted. He leant down, moving his hand to the back of her head, pulling her towards him. He felt her body tense in shock when he kissed her, then relax as she started to respond.

Her arms came up around his neck, as if trying to hold him in place, and that was fine by him, he had no intention of leaving. He pulled her body flush against him, holding her in place, and he felt her moan.

When she moaned for the second time, he thrust lightly against her, grinning into the kiss when this elicited another moan from her. Hell yeah. He moved her backwards, manoeuvring them until she was on her back across the bed, and he was hovering above her. As he moved to place soft kiss across her jaw, he glanced up and caught the time on the clock by her bed.

'Shit.' He muttered under his breath, but she heard and her eyes popped open.

'Noah?' he shut his eyes at the soft, unsure tone of her voice.

'Rach, this is so _not_ what I wanna be saying right now but we gotta go, or we're gonna be late.' There was silence, and her face was scrunched into confusion.

'Wait… you're don't want to make out because we have to go to school?' She sat up, moving away from him to sit on the edge of the bed, her back to him, and she was tense again. 'We should go Noah, we wouldn't want to be late.' She stood and collected her folder of music, and school books from her desk.

'Rachel-'

'Come on Noah, we should go.'

'Rachel… damn it Rach! Would you just stop for a second.' He reached for her arm, and she stopped, looking back over her shoulder. 'I'm not stopping this, or leaving. Trust me, that's totally not what's going on. But I know if we don't get to school on time, it'll eventually come back to bite me on the ass when you realise we missed school.' She had to smile, and nod her head once.

'Well I can not dispute your logic, although I must admit, I wouldn't have noticed how late we were.'

'Yeah?' She rolled her eyes at his sly, proud tone, then sighed.

'You have a one track mind Noah Puckerman. Well, come on, we have to leave now, or we'll be late for school.' He stood, and grabbed the hand she was using to gesture to him.

'Just so you know, we're totally picking up right where we left off as soon as school's over. Alright?' she nodded, eyes wide, a small smile forming.

'Alright.'

'Well guys, um, so Tuesday's performances were cut short due to… extraneous circumstances, so we have a couple extra people singing today. So, let's start with the people we didn't get to on Tuesday. Quinn?'

'Huh, so I'm _extraneous circumstances_? Translation?' Rachel glanced over at Puck, and smiled.

'I believe Mr Schuester is referring to the fight between myself and Santana, which was not directly related to the assignment, or what was occurring in the room. Although, it was, in my opinion, related, as it started due to her completely inappropriate comment on your song choice, which was of course related to the assignment and therefore Glee.' When she looked back at him, his eyebrow was raised, and he was staring at her. 'Mr Schuester used the wrong word to describe the unfortunate fight on Tuesday.'

'Right.' He smirked, then slid down in his chair, arm lazily thrown over the back of Rachel's chair, and closed his eyes, settling in to wait for Rachel's song.

After the remaining performers from Tuesday finished, Mr Schue started calling on the singers due to perform today. Each time he called for the next person, he was surprised when Rachel Berry didn't automatically jump up each time to steal the stage. She was simply sitting quietly next to Puck. The Puck part wasn't so unusual now, he knew they'd gotten close since Rachel and Finn had broken up, but a quiet Rachel was never good. So when the next person was done, and there were only two left to sing, Rachel and Tina, he looked up at Rachel.

'Rachel, would you like to go next?' She looked up, and just stared at him.

'I don't mind going last Mr Schuester. In fact, after Tuesday, I thought it might be best if I were to perform last.'

'What do you mean Rachel? What are you planning?' She shrugged her shoulders, but he knew Rachel Berry, she was anything but innocent.

'Nothing Mr Schuester, just the assignment. I simply meant that after the outbreak on Tuesday, anything I sing may not be well received so I thought it best to go last so any arguing that may ensue doesn't stop others from singing.' He was about to respond when Mercedes beat him to it.

'Aw hell to the no! You're just waiting to go last so you do some huge, show stopping number that probably has nothing to do with the assignment so you can show us all up and be the annoying diva you are.' Again, Mr Schue was about to speak when he was beaten to it again, this time by Puck.

'Mercedes, shut up. Mr Schue, this is annoying, Rachel said she doesn't want to sing next, can we move on so we can get this shit over with?'

'Language Puck. And you are awake. Do you think you could open your eyes then, so you can at least appear to be enjoying the performances like the rest of us?'

'Why Mr Schue? Didn't seem like people were paying attention to my song on Tuesday. Also, I don't know about you, but I use my ears to listen. Not my eyes.' He cracked an eye open here, to look at his teacher. 'Let's see, Quinn sang some lame song about being independent or some shit, Finn sang yet another boring, soppy ballad about having his heart broken, which by the way Finn, shut up it's getting old, you need to move on, she screwed up, get over it. And also, I remember last year when you made out with Rachel when you were still with Quinn, while you thought she was having your baby. So yeah. Where was I…'

'Alright, that's enough Puck. Everyone settle down, we still have two more songs, so Tina, if you will.' He sighed as Tina stood, and when he looked back over at Puck and Rachel, Puck's eyes were closed again, but he was leaning towards Rachel, listening to her whisper something to him. He shook his head.

'Alright, thanks Tina. And last, Rachel.' He watched her whisper one last thing to Puck, who smirked, before she stood and made her way down from the seats.

'Thank you Mr Schue. You said we could dedicate these songs to someone in particular, and so this song is, well, relevant to most of the people in this room, but it's dedicated to one in particular.' She paused, and everyone looked at her, confused. They'd all been expecting some song for Finn, but clearly that's not what they would be getting. 'I dedicate this to you Mr Schuester, although I hope everyone takes something from it.'

She stepped back, so she was leaning against the piano. 'You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me

You have knocked me off my feet again, got me feeling like a nothing

You, with you voice like nails on chalkboard calling me out when I'm wounded

You, picking on the weaker man'

She was looking at Mr Schue during the first lines, but when she sang of a voice like nails, she moved her gaze to Santana, then for the last line, on to Quinn, who looked disgusted.

'Well you can take me down with just one single blow

But you don't know what you don't know'

She looked over at Finn now, shaking her head as she pushed off the piano. She turned back to Mr Schuester as the chorus started.

'Someday I'll be living in a big ole city

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean'

Puck smirked as he watched the performance. Rachel was giving it everything, and he could tell by the looks on the faces of those around him that her words were hitting their mark, these guys looked pissed. Well this is what she wanted. She was the one who whispered 'let the show begin' to him before she went to perform. He looked over to Mr Schue, who looked shocked. He wasn't moving, just staring at Rachel like he'd never seen her before.

'You, with your switching sides and your wildfire lies and your humiliation

You have pointed out my flaws again, as if I don't already see them

I walk with my head down trying to block you out cause I'll never impress you

I just wanna feel okay again'

She wasn't focusing on any specific person now, just looking over the group, and Puck watched as most of them looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. A quick glance over at their teacher showed he was slowly coming out of his trance, anger showing in his eyes.

'I bet you got pushed around and somebody made you cold

But the cycle ends right now cause you can't lead me down that road

And you don't know what you don't know'

Rachel turned and looked directly at their teacher, who looked about two seconds away from jumping up and screaming, but Rachel just kept on singing, not looking away.

'Someday I'll be living in a big ole city

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean

And I can see you years from now in a bar

Talking over a football game with that same big loud opinion

But nobody's listening

Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things

Drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing

But all you are is mean

All you are is mean

And a liar and pathetic and alone in life

And mean, and mean, and mean'

Rachel was moving around the room, once again looking at different members of the group, raising her eyebrow at Mercedes when she sang of the loud opinion, or at Brittany on the line about not being able to sing. Puck rolled her eyes, cause hello, they all knew she could sing, despite what Brittany thought about being better.

'But someday I'll be living in a big ole city

And all you're ever gonna be is mean, yeah

Someday I'll be big enough so you can hit me

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean'

With one last look for the group, Rachel looked to Puck for the first time.

'Someday I'll be living in a big ole city'

He smirked at her, and she smiled back, nodding, before she turned back to sing the last lines to Mr Schuester.

'And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hit me

And all you're ever gonna be is mean

Why you gotta be so mean'

Rachel finished, still looking straight at Mr Schuester. She took a deep breath and turned away, looking to Puck, who was smiling at her. When no one said anything, she began to move back towards Puck.

3… 2… 1…

'What the HELL was that?'

'Who do you think you are manhands?'

'You're nothing RuPaul, you're just a loser, you can't pull things like this.'

Puck watched Rachel stiffen, and just stand there as the group shouted abuse at her. He was up out of his chair, tipping it backwards, kicking the chair in front of him out of the way as he jumped down to where Rachel was standing.

'Alright everyone needs to shut the FUCK up! No-' he cut of Finn, who was about to talk back. 'No, you all need to stop, right now. This is EXACTLY why Rachel was just singing that song. Seriously, are you all _that_ retarded?'

'Puck, that's hardly appropriate language for school, and Rachel, your song-'

'Was amazing, and completely appropriate for the assignment. You told us to sing about something important to us, or someone. That's what Rachel did, she sang about how everyone here makes her feel. Rachel said it on Tuesday – you're the teacher here Mr Schue, you should be handling this situation. You did nothing to stop their comments on Tuesday, are you really gonna do the same thing now? Or is it just that if the comments are directed at Rachel it's ok?' Mr Schuester just looked at him, and he stared his teacher down, eyebrow raised, one arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulder, holding her close.

'Puck…'

'No Mr Schue. I'll admit, I treated Rachel like absolute shit for two years, cause it's what everyone did. I'm also a teenager, we're known for bending to peer pressure. You're an adult. If _I_ can grow up and actually get to know Rachel, I think you could, you just don't want to. You got some issue with Rachel and you won't let it go. You-'

'Noah, I think he gets the point.' She put her hand on his chest, pushing slightly, before turning to Mr Schue. 'He's right Mr Schuester. You may think the song was inappropriate, but I just followed the instructions, and I know you don't like me, but maybe just this once you could act like the responsible adult in this situation and control the others. Give me a tiny moment in this school where I'm not being constantly berated by insults and names and just… just CRAP! Oh God. Ok, well now that I've resorted to such language I think it's time I left.'

Rachel moved away from Puck up to their seats, and picked up their bags, his guitar at home, then moved back down, grabbing his arm to drag him out, as he was still glaring daggers at everyone.

'Come on Noah, let's just leave it for now.' When they were at the door, Rachel pushed him Puck into the hallway, then turned back to the room, where everyone was staring after them. 'Mr Schuester, I love Glee club, and I remember telling you I wanted to be part of something special, because that made you special, but now… I really want to come back, but if this is how things are going to stay, I don't know if I can. That's not a threat, it's just the truth.'

She turned and walked through the door, letting Puck lead her now, down the corridors, and out into the car park. When they reached his truck, he grabbed the bags off her, threw them into the car, and turned to her.

When he pulled her into him, and simply held her, Rachel was shocked. Not that she'd been expecting him to kiss her, but Noah Puckerman wasn't the kind of boy to go around hugging people. She wrapped her arms around his back, and pulled as tight as she could.

'Proud of you Rach, you totally rocked that shit, it was amazing. Those douches had that coming, and Schuester's face… if he doesn't get his act together now, he's seriously pulling some like emu shit and burying his head in the sand.' She giggled, and he smiled at the sound.

'Noah, you mean ostriches, not emus. Though I'm surprised you know that, it's not something a lot of people our age would know. Also…' He pressed his lips to hers, effectively shutting her up. He pressed against his truck, trapping her as he kissed her slowly. When he pulled back, she was half smiling, looking up at him.

'Anyone ever tell you, you talk too much Berry?' She shrugged, smiling.

'I may have heard it once or twice. Although I must admit, if that is going to be your preferred method of shutting me up, I'll be talking an awful lot more.' She was grinning now, and he smirked.

'Oh yeah?'

'Yes.'

'Awesome.' He pulled her in for another kiss. 'Talk as much as you want babe, I have no problem shutting you up.' She smacked his arm, and he chuckled, placing another quick kiss to her lips, then letting her go, ordering her into his truck. Grinning, he rounded the front, jumping into the driver's seat.

'Noah?'

'Yeah babe?'

'Can we just drive around for a while?'

'Sure babe, we'll drive.'

'Thank you Noah.' He looked over at her, she was resting her head on the seat, looking over at him, a serious look on her face.

'Just a drive babe, nothing special.'

'No not for the drive. For everything.'

'No problem.' He looked over again, and she was looking down. 'I mean it Rach, it's no problem. I'm just sorry it took me two years of being a dick.'

'Noah, that doesn't matter now. It's the past. So forget it. Focus on now.'

'Well, it's a pretty cool now.' She smiled at him, nodding in agreement. 'So, where are we going?'


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: so here it is, the last chapter. Sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own glee, or puck… or anything…

Chapter 4: Resolving

Later that night, Puck pulled into the Berry driveway, switching the truck off and turning to face the passenger seat.

'Noah?'

'Yeah babe?'

'I… well, I know this probably seems a really stupid time to bring this up, but I've never been all that good with timing, and well, it just seems better to say it now, then leave it.'

'Say what?'

'Finn. I most definitely _do not_ want to be with him any more-'

'Yeah, kinda figured when you made out with me. What's the problem?'

'I just want to make it clear that I don't want to be with him yet, but I'm not over him – no wait, that's not right. I _am_ over _him_ but I'm not over the situation. All the things he put me through, the last year and a half. I'm still sorting through them, but I know I want to be with you.'

'So you're over Finn but not?' He sighed, and rested back against his door, angling his body towards hers so he could see her clearly. 'One question – is this just some way to get back at Finnessa?'

'Noah, no! Absolutely not. This, us, has nothing to do with him, I swear. I admit, my actions last year may seem to prove otherwise, but I thought a lot about Finn over break, and, well, I came to the conclusion he's a great idea, but in reality? He hurt me so much, always changing his mind, wanting me, then not wanting me, wanting me if I changed certain things.'

'Basically screwing you over.'

'Yes, basically, if one were to use such crude language. That's what I'm talking about when I say I'm not over it. It may take a little while for me to get past the way he treated me, made me feel, but I've definitely gotten past him. Does that make sense?' there was silence between them, and when she glanced over he was looking out through the window, thinking.

'Yeah, I gotcha. Long as you're not gonna go running back to Finnessa, I'm good.' She smiled, and leaned over to kiss him.

'Thank you.'

'Hey Rach,'

'Yes Noah?'

'I'm not like, the best guy in the world, but I don't play games. I'm into you, just you.' There was another pause, and he shut his eyes. 'Uh, yeah, so –'

'Thank you Noah. I know you hate saying things like that, so thank you. I promise I'll try to minimise the times you have to say them.' He laughed, and reached for her.

'Don't worry babe, that was like, a once in a lifetime event, so you should be proud you witnessed it.' He paused for a moment, then looked at her seriously. 'If you ever tell anyone-'

'Don't worry Noah, your secret is safe with me.' Her brow crinkled, and she looked down. 'Contrary to popular belief, I am not a total trout mouth, I know how to keep secrets, it's just that sometimes I believe things shouldn't be…' she trailed off, looking apologetic.

'That's old news Rach. 'Sides, you did the right thing. I woulda done it, if I didn't know it woulda made Quinn go completely postal and like, exclude me completely. And now we've totally reached my quota for emotional crap for like, the next decade, so I'm gonna head home and-'

'What? Do manly things?' she asked with a smirk, and he groaned.

'Not nice Berry.'

'Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was too easy.'

'You been spending way too much time around me, I'm rubbing off on you.' She shrugged, smiling.

'I don't mind.' She kissed him quickly, then moved to get out. 'My dads are probably waiting for me, so I should go. I'll see you tomorrow?'

'Yeah, but I got early practice so I can't pick you up. Sorry.'

'No, it doesn't matter. I've gotten spoilt, getting picked up every morning. The bus will be fine. I'll see you at school.' He leant over, pulled her up for a kiss.

'See you tomorrow.'

The next morning, Puck was early to school for the first time ever, excluding days he had practice which totally didn't count. So when he knocked on Mr Schuester's door, and his teacher looked up, he wasn't shocked by the complete look of surprise on the older man's face.

'Puck… what are you doing here so early? Before the bell?'

'Just needed to have a little chat. About Rachel.' He saw his teacher tense, and move to stand.

'Puck-'

'Let me say this, and I'm gone. Like I said yesterday, I admit I treated Rachel like shit the last couple of years, slushied her nearly every day. I didn't know her, so I didn't care, and I didn't care what anyone else did.' He paused, made sure his teacher was looking straight at him. 'I know her now, and I care now. What went down yesterday in Glee? I don't care if this is school, and you're the teacher, if that happens again and you don't stop it, I will.'

'Puck you can't just come in here and–'

'I just did Mr Schue. But I shouldn't 'a had to. You walk around here tryin' to figure out how to stop Sue Sylvester cause she's not fit to be around kids and she's making the cheerios evil, but you help. You let them get away with shit all the time. Let 'em think they're better. All while you help them tear down Rachel. To me, that makes you no better then any the cheerio-hos or jocks in this place, and just as pathetic. Things have to change or there's no way you're getting Nationals. Not without me, or Rachel.' He bent and picked up his bag, grinning as he stood. 'Nice talkin' to ya Mr Schue. See ya in Glee.'

Rachel stepped off the bus, ignoring the people pushing around her, making her way towards the school. She was halfway across the car park when someone stepped into her path, blocking her. She looked up, and saw Finn's angry face staring down at her.

'Can I help you with something Finn? Otherwise, you're in my, so please move.'

'What the hell was that song about yesterday? And you standing up for Puck on Tuesday, and him standing up for you yesterday?'

'I think the song was fairly self-explanatory, but if you need clarification, go ask your new cheerio-ho friend. I'm sure she'll be more than willing to help. As for Noah and I, it's none of your business. We're over; you made it clear you don't want to have anything to do with me. Now excuse me, I have things to do.' She stepped to the side, and had gone two steps passed him when he grabbed her wrist, yanked her back around.

'You and Puck, Rachel? Seriously?'

'Finn, if you don't let go of me right now, I will scream. And it will be very, very loud.' She warned softly, looking up at him. Before he had the chance to react, someone else spoke.

'Hudson, if you don't let the fuck go of her right now, I swear I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you won't play football again. Ever.'

'Yeah? What the fuck is it with you? What, knocking up my last girlfriend wasn't enough? You gotta steal Rachel too?'

'What are you talkin' about? You broke up with her, and I saw you over break, you didn't look all that upset when you all over Santana at Britt's party. And it's none of your business what's goin' on with me and Rach. She's not your girl anymore. So I'll say it again, get your fucking hand off of Rachel.'

'No, we need to talk and–'

'What's going on here?' All three turned to see Mr Schuester standing by, watching them.

'Nothing Mr Schue, just talking to Rachel here.' Finn answered, a big smile on his face.

'Actually, Mr Schue, Finn here grabbed Rachel's wrist, and he won't let go even though she made it quite clear she didn't want him touching her. I'm pretty sure that's against school rules, isn't it?' Puck looked over at the teacher, staring at him, making it clear that Mr Schuester needed to pick, and pick correctly. He sighed, and looked back to the other teens, where Finn was indeed holding Rachel's wrist, and the girl looked uncomfortable.

'Rachel, is this true?' She looked up from her wrist, and looked directly at her teacher. No tears, no dramatics this time. Simple truth.

'Yes Mr Schuester. Finn stopped me to talk when I exited the bus, and when I told him I didn't want to talk about Noah with him, he grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go. That's when Noah arrived and tried to help.' She stopped and looked back up at Finn, who was still visibly angry. 'Finn, I believe you should let go now.' She said pointedly, looking down at her wrist again. He looked down too, not letting go.

'Finn, let go of Rachel. Now.' Mr Schue had moved over and was now standing right behind Rachel, looking over the short girl at Finn.

'I… sorry Rachel.' Finn mumbled, looking down as he released her wrist.

'It better not happen again Finn, and I would ask you to kindly stay away from me for the foreseeable future.' She turned and took a step away, towards Puck, when she paused and turned her head to her teacher.

'Thank you Mr Schuester, for helping me. I'll see you in Glee this afternoon.' Rachel spoke softly, using her eyes to convey her thanks and her understanding. He nodded at her, and she smiled.

'You're welcome Rachel. I'll see you this afternoon.' Rachel nodded, and then moved away to Puck, who was still scowling in the direction of his friend – _former_ friend. Mr Schuester turned back to Finn, who was now watching Rachel and Puck, the angry look back.

'Finn, I'd like to talk to you, now if you don't mind.' He turned, expecting Finn to follow, which after a moment longer of looking at his ex-girlfriend and ex-friend.

Puck all but dragged Rachel to the nurse, careful to hold the wrist Finn hadn't been grabbing, ignoring her protests that she was fine and didn't need to see anyone, especially the school nurse. He stopped short, rounding on her.

'Berry, do everyone a favour and for once just shut up! You're going to see the fucking nurse cause despite Finn's 'good-boy' exterior, he's pretty strong, I know I've been on the receiving end of a punch from him, so you're going to stop complaining at me, and go see THE FUCKING NURSE! OK?' her eyes widened when he yelled, but then she smiled, and nodded, before she stepped to him, and reached up, pulling his head down to hers.

'Thank you, Noah. For trying to protect me.' She placed a soft kiss on his lips, then moved away, shifting her arm so she was holding his hand, pulling him with her towards the nurse. 'Come on, Noah, we should be getting to the nurse, so I'm not late to class.' She glanced over her shoulder, and caught the quick smile that crossed his face.

'Puck, can you hang back for a minute?' Puck looked up at Mr Schuester, and nodded. When they were alone, Puck leant on a table at the front of the room, crossing his arms in front of him, as he waited. 'There's something I need to take care of at the beginning of Glee this afternoon,' he watched Puck's eyes flash with understanding and continued, 'Can you distract Rachel? Keep her away for 5, maybe 10 minutes?'

'You do realise this is Rachel Berry we're talking about right? Have you ever known her to be late for anything, let alone Glee?'

'Well, I expect it'll be hard but…'

'Nah, I got this. I know how to distract her.' He smirked when he saw his teacher understand.

'I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that and just move on. 5 minutes would be alright, but I think 10 would be better, just in case.'

'I got this Mr Schue, don't worry. I'll get you 10 minutes. Use them well.'

'I will Puck.'

'Yeah. Thanks for this morning Mr Schue. It meant a lot to Rachel.'

'No problem Puck. See you this afternoon.'

'Ok guys, is everyone here?' Mr Schuester looked around the group of kids assembled as he entered the choir room that afternoon for Glee.

'Puck and _manhands_ aren't here, but yeah, everyone that matters is here.' Came Santana's reply from the side of the room, and Mr Schuester sighed, and turned to the piano for a minute.

'Actually, I know they aren't here, they'll be here in a bit. I need to talk to you all first. What happened yesterday and Tuesday-'

'We know Mr Schue, don't worry, we'll make sure they get the message that it won't be happening again.'

'_Actually_, if you could all just listen for a moment, I was going to say that you guys need to stop your behaviour. While I may not be a fan of Rachel's method, she had a valid point and she used the only means she knows how to get it across, and there was nothing wrong with Puck's song. Actually, his was probably the best for this assignment.'

'Excuse me?' He glanced over at Mercedes and sighed again.

'Yes Mercedes, I think Puck did the best job. But that's not the point. What is, is that the constant attacks on Rachel need to stop, and I know I haven't always set the best example, letting my emotions get the best of me, that's all gonna change. We've been working together for nearly two years, I thought you guys had built a family here, but you still all abuse her and take her for granted. And your response to Puck's song wasn't great either, Rachel was right, all he did was follow the instructions and take the opportunity to sing about something important. Santana,' he looked to the Latina girl who now had a slightly sulky look on her face, 'your comments were completely inappropriate, and Quinn, I get that you might have been upset but Puck has every right to sing about Beth if he wants, she's his daughter even if he can't raise her. So, you're all going to apologise to them when they get here, and from here on out you'll all stop this behaviour. Got it?' He looked around the silent room, and was faced with a group of angry and resentful faces.

'Mr Schue, we're all cool with Puck, most of the time, but Rachel really needs to-'

'Mercedes, that's enough. Anyone who refuses to do this will not participate in this club anymore. No,' he cut off the protests, 'that's final. Rachel may be hard to handle sometimes, she knows that, but she's also kept this group going, and she works harder than anyone for this club. She was right, this is something special, so if you all want to stay and be part of it, you'll start acting better.'

'We understand Mr Schue, don't worry. We got this.' Artie's voice came from his spot by Brittany in the front row, and he could see guilt on the boy's face.

Suddenly, the choir room door opened, and Rachel came rushing in, Puck right behind her.

'Mr Schuester, I am so sorry I am late, I was…' she trailed off, trying to think of an excuse, when Puck smirked at their teacher.

'Sorry Mr Schue, I distracted her as long as I could, but you know Berry, she's determined.'

'Wait, distract me? Noah Puckerman, what do you mean distract me? Mr Schuester, what is going on?' She was confused when her teacher simply smiled at her.

'Don't worry Rachel, it's ok.'

'Ah… Rachel, Puck,' Artie began, rolling forward to them, Brittany standing to walk behind him. 'Look, we just wanna say we're sorry about yesterday… and Tuesday and, well, Rachel, we're sorry. We're a group of outcasts in this school, we should know better than to treat you like we did. You've helped us all out, and we've treated you like …'

'Shit?' Puck supplied for him, and Artie nodded in response.

'Yes. And we're sorry.'

'We?' Rachel questioned, and Artie looked around. A number were still glaring, but a couple of them were nodding.

'Well, all of us… though maybe some of us more than others.' Rachel nodded, looking around the room as well.

'I'm sorry Rachel.' Mr Schuester smiled at the blonde cheerleader; she wasn't always the brightest girl, but it seemed like his words had had an effect on her, or maybe she was simply following her boyfriend's example. Either way, it was a start.

'We're sorry too, Rachel.' Everyone turned at the voice, surprised to see Mike standing, pulling Tina up next to him. Rachel smiled at the four people standing in front of her.

'Thank you, that means a lot to me. And thank you Mr Schuester, as I'm sure you had something to do with this. Perhaps we could begin now?' She asked, moving towards the seat, Puck following. As Rachel settled herself in the seat behind Brittany, Puck looked back and nodded at their teacher, before sliding into the seat next to Rachel, clapping a hand on Artie's shoulder as the boy rolled back into his spot in front of Puck.

'Well, that was certainly interesting. I wonder what sparked Mr Schuester's sudden change of heart, hmm Noah?' Rachel's voice whispered in his ear as their teacher began discussing Regionals.

'Dunno, guess he just finally decided to use his brain, see how awesome you are, my hot little Jewish American Princess.' He looked over and she was blushing at his comment, before she rolled her eyes.

'Really Noah. Anyway, he managed to get a few of our group to apologise, that's not an easy task.'

'Yeah, well, the cool people apologised. And hey, the others were silent, that's an improvement right?'

'Yes, a definite improvement, I'd have to agree.' He looked over and she was smiling.

'So, am I coming over to your place after practice so we can finish what we started?'

'Noah!' she tried to sound indignant while keep her voice to a minimum.

'What babe? We're a couple of hot Jews, it's natural.' He told her, smirking as she flushed again, at the memory of their activities minutes earlier.

'Puck, you have plenty of time for that outside of school, stop distracting Rachel, and let's get back to Regionals.' Rachel flushed once again at their teacher's words, sending a swift glare at her, now, boyfriend before facing forwards and focusing on the discussion. She felt Noah drop his arm around her should, pulling her in to him slightly, and she sighed, relaxing into him.

So things weren't magically fantastic; she knew half the people in here still hated her, and the ones who apologised would probably take some time to get close to, and Mr Schuester was probably going to forget his new desire to treat her well occasionally, but she had Noah. Things were better.

A/N: alright, so that's it! I really hope you guys liked it, and thankyou to everyone for reading and reviewing, or even just alerting, I love knowing so many of you like it.


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